Complaint

Complaint

The Palestinian Authority (PA) plans to file a legal complaint against US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to a Palestinian official, the Turkish Anadolu Agency reported recently.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki will fly to The Hague in the near future to file a suit against the US at the ICC over Trump’s official recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December, Saleh Rafat, an executive committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told the official Voice of Palestine radio.

Trump’s historic recognition has “violated all international laws and resolutions,” Rafat calimed, without giving further details about the legal basis for the complaint.

Al-Maliki will file another ICC complaint against Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman for “their involvement in crimes against the Palestinian people,” Rafat said.

Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has triggered an outcry in the Arab world, but Arab states have failed to take any action beyond statements.

‘Political, Hypocritical and Cynical Maneuver’
The PA became an official member of the ICC in 2015. At the time, Jerusalem responded with rage and derided the (ICC), saying the PA’s decision to join the ICC, in order to initiate proceedings against Israel, is a “political, hypocritical and cynical maneuver.”

Ever since, the PA has been using the international body as a forum from which to launch diplomatic attacks against the Jewish state.

“The ICC was established in order to prosecute those responsible for the world’s gravest atrocities. It is not acceptable to cooperate with those attempting to abuse the ICC system and its limited resources to promote their political agenda,” Israel stated.

“Israel will continue to defend itself and its citizens while respecting international law and abiding by Israel’s independent, impartial and effective legal system,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry stated.